The Crow
The Crow is a comic book series created by James O'Barr. The series was originally written by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his girlfriend at the hands of a drunk driver. It was later published by Caliber Comics in 1989, becoming an underground success, and later adapted into a film of the same name in 1994. Three film sequels, a television series and numerous books and comic books have also been subsequently produced. The Crow has been translated into almost a dozen languages and has sold over a quarter-million copies worldwide. Plot he story revolves around an unfortunate young man named Eric. He and his fiancée, Shelly, are assaulted by a gang of street thugs after their car breaks down. Eric is shot in the head and is paralyzed, and can only watch as Shelly is savagely beaten and raped. They are then left for dead on the side of the road. He is resurrected by a crow and seeks vengeance on the murderers, methodically stalking and killing them. When not on the hunt, Eric stays in the house he shared with Shelly, spending most of his time there lost in memories of her. Her absence is torture for him; he is in emotional pain, even engaging in self-mutilation by cutting himself. The Crow acts as both guide and goad for Eric, giving him information that helps him in his quest but also chastising him for dwelling on Shelly's death, seeing his pining as useless self-indulgence that distracts him from his purpose. Characters *Sherri: A Young Street Girl whom Eric meets while going for Funboy. Sherri is shown as upset, due to her mother not being there for her, and even goes so far as tell Eric that she belives she's been bad and good send her to hell. She and Eric Seem to bond closely, and feeling sorry for her, he gives her Shelly's Engagement Ring. She's overjoyed, because no one has ever given her a gift before, and she call's him a "clown", while she call's her a "princess". She is renamed Sarah in the Film Adaptation. *T-Bird: The Head of the gang's that murder Shelly and Eric. *Funboy: T-Bird right-hand man, a morphine addict who is sleeping with Shelly's Mother. *Top Dollar: A low-lever Drug Dealer. *Tin-Tin: The First of T-Bird gangs being eliminated by Eric. *Tom-Tom: One Of T-Birds Soldiers and one of Shelly's rapits. Tom-Tom is absent in the fil version being replaced by Skank. *Gideon: A pownbroker who is used by T-Birds lackeys to fence Shelly's engagement ring. *Officer Albretch: A beat cop who confronts Eric outside of Gideon's pownshop *Captain Hook: A Detective who originally handelled Eric's case. Eric sends him regrads through Albretch. Adaptations From 1996-1998, Kitchen Sink Press published five mini-series and a one-shot based on The Crow concept with a new avatar in each series. Following the Kitchen Sink series, London Night Studios published The Crow/Razor: Kill the Pain in 1998, which saw Eric Draven paired with Everette Hartsoe's bad girl character Razor. Also in 1998, O'Barr and editor Ed Kramer asked an array of fiction writers, poets and artists (including Gene Wolfe, Alan Dean Foster, Charles de Lint, Jack Dann, Jane Yolen, Henry Rollins and Iggy Pop) to interpret this Gothic fiction phenomenon. The Crow: Shattered Lives and Broken Dreams was released by Random House on Halloween, and a year later, in a limited signed and numbered volume, by Donald M. Grant Publishing. In 1999, Image Comics released a new Crow comic series with yet another take on the Eric Draven story. It ran for ten issues, ending in November of that year. In July 2012, IDW will publish a new Crow series written by novelist John Shirley (co-writer of the original Crow film) and illustrated by Kevin Colden. Film and Television In 1994, a film based on the comic (titled The Crow) was released to theaters by Miramax Films. The film was both a critical and commercial success earning $50,693,129 total gross during its 1994 United States theatrical release. A cult following, in part due to the accidental death of its star Brandon Lee on the film's set, has maintained the film's popularity, with a regular staple of movie memorabilia being found at retailers Hot Topic. Three sequels have been made so far: The Crow: City of Angels (1996), starring Vincent Pérez (as The Crow), Mia Kirshner, Richard Brooks and Iggy Pop; The Crow: Salvation (2000), starring Eric Mabius (as The Crow), Kirsten Dunst and Fred Ward; and The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2005), starring Edward Furlong (as The Crow), David Boreanaz and Tara Reid. A television series, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven (1998), was based on the first movie with Mark Dacascos replacing Lee in the role of Eric Draven. On December 14, 2008, Stephen Norrington announced in Variety that he planned to write and direct a "reinvention" of The Crow. Norrington distinguished between the original and his remake: "Whereas Proyas’ original was gloriously Gothic and stylized, the new movie will be realistic, hard-edged and mysterious, almost documentary-style."Ryan Kavanaugh's Relativity Media is currently negotiating with Edward R. Pressman for both the film's rights and financing